Delayed Remai Modern art gallery 90 per cent done

Art will be featured throughout the cavernous Remai Modern, but the facility will serve as more than an art gallery.

That message was stressed Friday as media were taken on a tour of parts of the 130,000-square-foot building at River Landing that is now 90 per cent complete.

The Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan boasts about five times the space of the closed Mendel Art Gallery it is replacing.

“It will have many functions,” City of Saskatoon special projects manager Jeanna South told reporters.

The vision of a modern gallery with views of the South Saskatchewan River is starting to take shape amid the drywall and exposed electrical system.

The building, once open, will house 11 separate galleries, including the Picasso gallery, which will showcase the world’s largest collection of Picasso linocuts a related ceramics collection.

The facility will also include a restaurant and patio on the main floor, a 150-seat theatre on the second floor, an outdoor terrace on the second floor and a rooftop terrace.

The main-floor atrium, which will remain accessible for free to the public when the gallery is open, measures just over 4,000 square feet — nearly the size of a regulation basketball court.

Remai Modern executive director Gregory Burke told reporters the marquee gallery on the third floor offers one of the largest exhibition spaces in Canada at 7,456 sq. ft. That’s enough space to fit three tennis courts comfortably.

The Mendel lacked the space to accommodate the 8,000 works in its permanent collection, but the Remai Modern includes sufficient storage space. It looks like it has enough wall space to accommodate 8,000 paintings.

Burke and South stressed throughout Friday’s tour the building is designed to serve as host for a wide variety of events. Some of the spaces are available for rent and many have named sponsorships.

Construction on the facility began in early 2013. Although much of the first three floors looks complete, construction continues on the fourth floor, so it was not included in the tour.

The gallery also includes a loading dock and a freight elevator large enough to accommodate a truck. These amenities will allow the building to play host to major international touring exhibitions.

A report that will be considered at Monday’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee meeting says completion of the gallery by contractor EllisDon is expected to happen by the end of the year. But the report notes there is very little wriggle room for further delays to hit that target.

The city and EllisDon continue to differ over “outstanding discussion points” that could affect the timing and cost of completing the gallery, the report says. South said Friday she could not reveal what the issues were, but added they would be revealed at Monday’s meeting.

If the construction deadline is met, the report suggests the gallery may open for community programs and access to the public in early 2017. Exhibitions would not start at the gallery until about mid-2017 under the current schedule.

The project remains about $2.5 million to $4.5 million over budget, according to the report, which notes city hall officials continue to seek a way to pay for the overage, including private fundraising.

The approved budget for the gallery alone is $84.6 million, not including land and the parkade, which push the cost above $106 million. When first proposed in 2009, the gallery was estimated to cost $55 million. Its opening has been pushed back from Labour Day this year.

Gallery: Tour of the nearly finished Remai Modern Art Gallery

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90 per cent complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.

Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, Jeanna South with Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90% complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Jeanne South, Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, and Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO, gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90 per cent complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Jeanne South, Special Projects Manager for the City of Saskatoon, and Gregory Burke, Remai Modern executive Director and CEO, gave the media a tour of the gallery with the building contract at the 90 per cent complete stage, May 6, 2016.Gord Waldner/Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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